A mum who was punched to the ground during an attempted robbery says she cannot sleep at night and is afraid to go out by herself.

The victim, who did not want to be named, was attacked as she walked back to her home from her sister’s nearby house in Red Lodge.

After being shouted at by her attacker, who demanded she hand over her phone, she was ambushed from behind and knocked to the floor.

During the scuffle that followed, the man attempted to snatch the phone, but the victim was able to kick out and force him to run away before she dashed home.

The attack, which happened at about 8pm last Wednesday in Warren Road, near the junction with Boundary Road, has left the woman – a mother-of-two in her 30s – badly shaken.

She told the EADT: “I was really scared. I’m not sleeping properly at night, I’m up for most of the night worrying. I’ve never seen or heard anything like this around here, it’s a real shock.

“I can go out during the day but not for long. I just want to hurry up and get home, and that’s during the day.”

The woman and her family have lived in Suffolk for 19 years having moved here from London.

Her husband said since the attack, she had only been able to leave the village and go into Newmarket with her sister and eldest son on Saturday.

He added: “She’s not doing anything on her own, she keeps looking behind her all the time. It’s the last place you’d have thought anything like that could happen.”

The suspect is described as between 5ft 9in and 6ft. He was wearing a dark zip-up hooded top with a dark baseball cap underneath, with dark trousers and trainers. He spoke with an English accent.

Anyone with any information is asked to contact the Bury St Edmunds Priority Crime Team on 101 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555111.